Ghosts And The Brain: Taking control of your mental health.

Few people would candidly admit fearing ghosts to the point of feeling uncomfortable if left home alone late at night. In fact, fears of the supernatural have only occasionally been a focus of attention in the clinical literature.

This write, is to speak to these brave and help seeking cases and perhaps energize through this prayer, those without the courage to speak yet, to find some and speak in quest for help.

Fear of ghosts and kindred supernatural worries may be a cause of intense discomfort, poor sleep, and social occupational impairment. Whereas these are more prevalent in children, adolescents and adults have been reported to at times be overwhelmed by images of ghosts and haunted houses often experiencing a vivid impression that an immaterial being not perceivable by the ordinary senses was hovering around. The differential diagnosis of phobia of the supernatural includes nocturnal panic attacks, psychosis, dissociative states of sleep, dementia and a few rare presentations of epilepsy.

But what is a ghost?
Part of the difficulty in investigating ghosts is that there is not one universally agreed-upon definition of what a ghost is. Some believe that they are spirits of the dead who for whatever reason get “lost” on their way to The Other Side; others claim that ghosts are instead telepathic entities projected into the world from our minds
In the end (and despite mountains of ambiguous photos, sounds, and videos) the evidence for ghosts is no better today than it was a year ago, a decade ago, or a century ago. There are two possible reasons for the failure of ghost hunters to find good evidence. The first is that ghosts don’t exist, and that reports of ghosts can be explained by psychology, misperceptions, mistakes and hoaxes. The second option is that ghosts do exist, but that ghost hunters are simply incompetent and need to bring more science to the search.
Ultimately, ghost hunting is not about the evidence (if it was, the search would have been abandoned long ago). In this context therefore a ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person , past memory or unexplained imagery that can appear to the living.

Hence, this discussion refers to all those ghosts that come to the mind. We see them but actually don’t see them. We see them because we know and feel differently when they come. For instance, remembering past violent experiences reactivates the brain regions engaged during encoding of the same.
Let’s look at some ghosts.

Anxiety disorders are usually manifested by excessive worrying as well as panic in some cases. Anxiety disorders can be incredibly debilitating to the individuals diagnosed as their thoughts seem to be at constant battle. But also to the family and loved ones surrounding them. If your partner is struggling with anxiety on a daily basis, it can feel like you are living with the ghost of anxiety. The stress resulting from consistently supporting a loved one can leave you feeling drained and exhausted. Psychologists refer to this as compassion fatigue. It is therefore important that you take time to decompress and refuel. However, the key to battling compassion fatigue is awareness, once an individual is aware of the risks associated with looking after another with anxiety, measures and personal checks can be employed to guard against possible adverse effects.

The American Institute of Stress indicates the following as some of the symptoms associated with compassion fatigue;
Isolation and loss of morale
Sleep disturbance
Emotional intensity increase
Cognitive ability decrease
Behavior and judgement impairment
Low energy and negative mood
Loss of self-worth and emotional modulation
Identity, word view and spiritual impact
Loss of hope and meaning

Flash backs and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These appear as memories or fragments of memories from recent or past events. They can be jarring, painful and disruptive. Flash backs can last a few seconds or might involve extensive memory recall. They can occur during day or night when you are awake or asleep and can take you completely by surprise. They can be in the first person where it feels like you are right there, seeing and experiencing things through your eyes, or the third person, where it can be like you are watching a movie in which you are the central character. Sometimes flash backs replay events of which you were previously unaware or had long forgotten. These can leave you feeling, fearful, confused and distressed.

‘I know the abuse happened over 20 years ago, but it felt like I was in the room with her: the smell, the confusing mix of fear, panic and excitement. I just froze’. – excerpt from a male survivor of sexual violence’s statement.

It is important to get support, talk to people that you trust around you. This would help you reconnect with the present in a safe and supportive way. Be kind to yourself, escape the moment by watching a distractive movie or listening to music.
Sometimes flashbacks come to feel an empty memory in your life. Accept the memory as part of your past and move on.

This is particularly useful as it makes the appearance of the memories understandable, you will perhaps accept that part of your past and move on while knowing that at least, you are not going crazy.

At the Youth Baraza, ours is a prayer and call that anyone facing these challenges or similar challenges finds help through counselling or talking about these things affecting them. The road to good mental health starts with self-awareness and then seeking help.

Diogo Eric
Co- Founder/
Communications Manager
The Youth Baraza